Intrigued by the freedom and ease that a bivvy bag can bring, but unsure how to start? Why not join us on Cycle Luxembourg’s first overnight cycle trip and give it a go!

A bivvy bag is a bag that goes outside your sleeping bag allowing you to sleep outside, really outside. A tent is great, but in the words of Alastair Humphreys, it is basically a poor version of being indoors. With the bivvy you fall asleep looking at the stars and wake up with dew on your nose.

We shall be leading a ride, with an experienced ‘bivvyer’, over the first weekend in June. In addition to your sleeping bag you will need a bivvy bag. If you do not wish to invest in a top quality one, a cheap ‘survival bag’ will suffice. This will retain moisture and you’ll probably have a wet sleeping bag in the morning, but for a one-night trip such as this it will be fine. If you really enjoy the night in the open you’ll probably want to invest in a better quality bag. If you hate it, at least you’ll have found that out and not gone to too much expense!

For much more on the whys, hows, and whats of bivvy bags please do check out what Humphreys has to say. He really knows his stuff.

We will meet on Friday 1st June 2018 at 18:00 and take train to the north, for around an hour. We will ride around 30km and camp at a location which is legally designated for camping, but has no services. After our night under the stars we will ride back to Luxembourg (Saturday 2nd June) which will be around 100km, but with the option of following the railway giving plenty of opportunities for a shorter route, if required. There will be a short amount of riding on non-paved roads on this trip, so super-skinny road tyres are not recommended.

Sleeping bag; Bivvy bag (or ‘survival’ bag); sleeping mat (foam or inflatable, whatever you wish, but sleeping directly on the ground is no fun at all); torch; rain jacket; woolly hat (even in summer it’s better to wear at night); warm clothes (if it is warm enough at night without these, you can at least use your jumper as a pillow!); water; some food that doesn’t need to be cooked; toothbrush with toothpaste on it already and wrapped in cling-film; cup; spoon/fork; if you think you want pyjamas/pillow/more clothes and can take the weight, of course it’s up to you!